BRTA Workers On Strike, Demand Higher Wages

Employees at the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority have been on strike since rejecting a contract Sunday, complicating plans for travelers in the county.

Victor Santiago, the business agent of the Teamsters 404, says the paratransit and fixed route drivers are holding out for better wages.

“The community, they wind up paying the price for something the company is doing," he told WAMC. "We don’t want to be on strike, we have tried not to be on strike – we’ve been in negotiations since June – I mean, actually, since May, the contract expired in June.”

Only the 15 paratransit drivers are on officially strike, while the 38 other BRTA employees represented by the union are refusing to cross picket lines.

The BRTA did not respond to requests for comment, but posted updated route information on its website.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated Berkshire Community Action Council incurred a loss of $20,000. It was BerkshireRides that incurred a $20,000 loss. Also, the Massachusetts legislature included $400,000 in its 2016 fiscal budget for BerkshireRides, not BCAC.

A Berkshire County nonprofit has dismantled its transportation department after losing a contract it has held for years from the area’s regional transit authority.